Learning to Crawl
by HiddenFanGirl
Summary: His entire world was swept out from under him when betrayal pulled the rug. Now the Doctor, regenerated a new-or is it old?-body must face a new enemy with a new companion. After all, when life takes everything from you, all you can do fight to rebuild
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **Like always, I don't own crap. I own Adrianna, and the plot, and that's it. Someone dead created Doctor Who, and some living guy owns him now. I weep.

Okay, latest fic! This is an idea that came to me during the most random time ever. Granted, the idea wasn't him regenerating, but who he regenerates into. However, I'm not going to reveal that right off the bat. I'm going to make you wait for it.

And, yes, short prologue is short.

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He couldn't believe what was happening.

He couldn't believe _how_ this had happened.

After all he had been through, he had been so stupid as to fall for such an obvious trap. Though, maybe it was because of all he had seen that he had rushed head-first into such a dangerous situation, and had been forced to pay dearly for it. He had not only lost his primary companion, but had also been reduced to a bleeding mass by the very same species he had spent a week defending from the Daleks.

Irony was, like the humans say, quite a bitch.

"Doctor? Oh, God, Doctor, is there anything I can do?"

The Doctor raised his head just a fraction, just enough to lay his eyes upon the woman he had, less than an hour ago, chosen to become his latest companion. Adrianna Hollison had been one of the people he had spent his time defending, and one of two that had returned the favor by trying to stand by his side during irony's backhand. It was because of that he had asked her to become his newest companion, helping him and Amy fight against the Daleks and fixing the rifts in the universe.

But now she stared back at him with mixture of concern and absolute worry etched on her face. Less than an hour ago she had been all grins and giggles, excited to have the chance to explore the worlds and universes outside of her own. She had truly wanted to become a traveler, like most. Unlike most, she had the guts for it, too. It was such a shame he wouldn't get to see how fine of a traveler she became.

A lopsided grin crossed his features, even if it was pained, and The Doctor reached out a hand. Even with her eyesight the way it was, Adrianna managed to place her own over his bloody fingers. It tightened around his meek grip.

"Oi, don't you worry about me, Ria," he gave her a gentle look, then rested his head on the cold concrete below, "I'm going to be fine in about... three-point-oh-five seconds. I'm just sorry you didn't have enough time to get to know this side of me."

There was confusion in the half-human's eyes, even as she brushed her fingers over his wrist, where his pulse fluttered weakly. She licked her lips, then pulled her hand back. She knew something was wrong, and he had to admire that. "Doctor, there has to be something I can do. You just can't-"

He cut her off with, "Ria?"

"Yes?" She questioned, head tilting to the side.

"Run."

The word had just barely escaped his mouth when his entire body began to writhe. Limbs flailed and tensed as pain from everywhere began to gather. His head pulsed; his heart felt as if it wanted to implode. His lips parted in a strangled scream, though no sound came out, and for that much he was grateful. At least she would not have to hear all he was going through.

Frigid flames shot from every limb, and even The Doctor's head. And all Adrianna could do was scramble back, utter horror ripping at her heart. Though she may have not been able to see much, she could still feel all that was happening. She could hear his heels click against the sidewalk. She knew he was dying, and all she could do was think, _This can not be happening. This can not be happening._

_My God, _this can not be happening.

How had this happened?

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HFG: Want more? Please press lovely button and review!


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Second verse, same as the first!

HFG: Here's a bit more. I'm so sorry the chapters are short, but that means updates come more often, right?

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_**Seven Days Earlier**_

"Ah, here we are!"

"And where, exactly, is here, Doctor?"

The Doctor did not look back as the question he had predicted would come reached his ears. He was far too used to his companions asking questions such as those that it no longer phased him when foolishness was spoken. Instead, he stepped out of the TARDIS and glanced around, smiling his famous crooked grin.

"Here is here, Amy. Here is where we are standing right now, at this particular point of time. Even though time is always changing, this..." He trailed off as he realized he was touching on a previous generation of Doctor, cleared his throat. There was certainly no need for that. So, as if to dissolve the selves of yesterday, he extended an arm, motioning to the darkness that surrounded them, "This is Terdaan – the Microwave Planet, as I like to call it."

Amelia stepped out of the TARDIS herself and looked around, though her search yielded nothing but darkness. The only thing she could make out was the Doctor's shape, and even that was rough. But it was just enough to get her to approach him. "Don't tell me we're going to get cooked, Doctor."

The statement was far more amusing than it should have been, and the Doctor found himself chuckling good-naturedly. "No, no, Amy. This planet," he said as he began to walk into the darkness, "is much like one of your microwave dinners. The ends are frozen beyond habitable levels. The center is burned beyond revival." He gave the human girl an unseen grin, "It was actually one of my previous companions that came up with the nickname for this place."

"_Oi, so you mean it's like someone put it in a microwave?"_

Rose Tyler's voice drifted back through his mind, and the Doctor just barely resisted the urge to shudder. Rose had been Nine and Ten's love, their companion. Whenever he had stared at her in their forms, all he had felt as love. Now, thinking back, all he could feel was the ghost of puppy love – or, that was how it seemed now. After all, Eleven's love – his companion – was one Amelia Pond. And that was the one thing whispers of the past could never change.

Amy seemed to notice the change in him. She jogged towards his shape, looped her arm through his gently. "Doctor?" She asked, that beautiful Scottish accent jogging him from Memory Lane, "Not that I don't appreciate the thought, but why, exactly, are we standing in the darkness when there's an entire planet to explore?"

Again, the Doctor smiled. He reached over, placing his hand over hers, "We're standing here because we need the natives to activate the crystals. And, if my calculations are correct, then we should be greeted by their welcoming party in three, two," he paused then, frowned, "Well, well. My calculations were off."

She jerked back, staring at him, "Your calculations were-?"

"Aye, Amy, they were off. For, you see... They've been watching us ever since the TARDIS landed."

At that exact moment, there was a light buzzing sound. The Doctor tilted his head to the side, amused, as, one by one, groups of greenish lights began to glow. If one inspected them, one would find that the lights were, in fact, clusters of luminescent gemstones the color of earthen jades. They were the only form of light that these Underground people had, but they sufficed for their purpose. Especially considering that every single one of the Terdaanians were blind, or very close to it.

The Doctor smiled as, down the tunnel, the natives began to make their presence known. Unlike the "savages" or "mole people" the humans always predicted lived underground, the Terdaanians were a proud, noble race who tended to care more about their appearance then was necessary. It amused him, truly, to see two dark-skinned, and one not-so-dark-skinned, humanoids walking towards him, heads held high even as their pristine white robes scraped the ground.

They stopped when they were just a few yards away, and the center Terdaanian took a step forwards. The other two side-stepped to fill in the gap left by their companion. They stood motionless as the superior reached up, to the hood of her robe, and pulled it back from her face. Sightless eyes, surrounded by tattooers of various colors, stared at the two newcomers.

"So the Doctor has returned."

"Cryleena." The Doctor took a step forward, accepting the hand that was offered out to him. He interlaced their fingers in a warm, strong grip, and flashed the priestess a smile. "It's been ages. I swear, the last time I saw you, you were but a tot."

A smile formed on the woman's ash-white face. A blue swirl, just below her left eye, glowed briefly, and she took a step back. "You have changed faces again, I see. I knew something was different about your voice." When the Doctor smiled, Cryleena turned her head to "look" at the Doctor's companion. Amy tensed. "And you seem to have taken on a new traveling partner as well. Tell me," she tilted her head, back to him, "are you romantically involved with this one as well?"

Embarrassment rushed to his belly, though the Doctor refused to show any sort of emotion to the blind woman. Instead, he grinned, "I told you, Cryleena, the emotions you felt were wrong."

"Ah, but I am never wrong!" She flicked a finger at him, as if giving him a playful warning, then took a step back, to resume her place before her brethren. Her hands fell to her side, and the sleeves of her robe fell back into their proper place, with the tips but an inch from the dirty ground. "Will you come with us, Doctor, or are you merely here to check up on us?"

The earlier comment forgotten, the Doctor beamed. He placed his hand back over Amy's and nodded, "I have decided to show Amy this portion of the galaxy. You don't mind that we stopped by your planet, do you, Cryleena? Of course you don't." He added, before she could answer. "Now, if you three don't mind, I think it's time we got Amy here out of this boring darkness and showed her what a true Underground City looks like. Don't you agree?"

Her lips curving into a thin smile, Cryleena nodded. She stepped back, falling into line with her brethren. All in unison, they turned upon their heels and began to travel back through the tunnel the way they had came. The Doctor beamed and followed, whispering intelligible facts about this planet and its inhabitants to his lovely companion every now and again.

Intelligence was, like his people said, the only thing that was truly yours. And he intended to give Amy as much of it as was possible.

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HFG: Tell me whatcha think! Review for me!


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